Narrating with nouns: singular definite articles
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can match nouns to their correct grammatical gender and correctly translate short present tense sentences to and from German to narrate events.
Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons
Key learning points
- German has three words for 'the': 'der' (masculine), 'die' (feminine) and 'das' (neuter).
- When learning a German noun, learn its grammatical gender.
- There is only one present tense in German: 'ich lerne' means 'I learn' and 'I am learning'.
Keywords
Definite article - the words 'der', 'die', 'das', meaning 'the'
Grammatical gender - way to categorise all nouns as either masculine, feminine or neuter
Present tense - describes habitual events in the present: ‘I do’ or ‘I’m doing’
Common misconception
Grammatical gender is the same as biological gender.
Grammatical gender is not the same as biological gender, i.e., not all nouns referring to a female are gramatically female (for example, 'das Mädchen' = 'girl').
Teacher tip
Task A1 could be adapted in the classroom to be completed on mini whiteboards as a check for understanding, where teachers can address any misconceptions as they arise.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which words mean 'the' in German?
Q2.Match the German nouns below to the correct English translations.
computer game
head
shape
family
room
human being
Q3.Match up the subjects and present tense verb endings.
-e
-st
-t
Q4.Which of these words are conjunctions?
Q5.Translate the following sentence into English: 'Ich verstehe nicht!'.
Q6.Translate the following sentence into German: 'She talks with friends.'
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the English words below to the correct German translations.
bitte
danke
Körper (m)
Nacht (f)
kommen
nochmal
Q2.What is 'grammatical gender'?
Q3.What is a definite article?
Q4.How many present tenses are there in German?
Q5.Which definite article is missing here? ' Mädchen'.
Q6.Translate the following sentence into German: 'The father is standing.'
To help you plan your 7 German lesson on: Narrating with nouns: singular definite articles, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 7 German lesson on: Narrating with nouns: singular definite articles, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 German lessons from the Life at home: present tense (singular) weak verbs unit, dive into the full secondary German curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.